Down and Back Again on the Mt. Berry Trail

I was off very late on my walk this morning: 8:35. I walked a leisurely two and a half hours and a little over five miles. The last hour of the walk was pretty hot and I was soaked when I got home. Over 16.000 steps for the day according to my Apple Watch at 10 p.m. With only two or three days excepted, I have had a substantial morning walk every day since we got back from California almost a month ago.

Other walkers generally had better sense than to start so late. In the distance is one walker coming with his dog Molly.

I like to do the down and back route on hot days -- there's more shade on the west side of the river and it's quieter.

A family including mom, dad, and twi daughters came along with a fur ball they call Sushi.

I called Sheila as I passed this bench in sight of the Armuchee Connector bridge. She had been sleeping when I left the house.

This is a very lovely part of the trail. I thoroughly enjoy these long morning walks. 

There are large cotton fields near the connector that ...  

...are beginning to burst into bolls now.

On the walk back I took my one millionth picture of this barn and silo. Okay, that might be an exaggeration.

A ragged butterfly.

Native wildflower: Conoclinium coelestium, Blue Mistflower.

Native wildflower: Euparorium secotinum, Late Boneset

Native wildflower: Vernonia gigantic, Giant Ironweed

Native wildflower: Bidens aristosa, Bearded Beggarticks

Other than my walk it was lazy Sunday, I am afraid. I watched part of the First UMC service on YouTube. I researched my nerve ailment (intense itching/pain in my middle back) with the help of Chatgpt. It has finally dissipated after three or four days of misery. Last night I slept through the night! Yay! I had slept VERY little for two nights. Sheila and I watched a couple of episodes of =a PBS murder mystery show -- Marlow Murders (or something like that.) AND Sheila got out a box of chocolate candies (a present from Mike Bock) that had been in the freezer for over a year. We ate several pieces.

I am still relishing my enjoyment of the ghost story program at Barnsley on Wednesday night. I was afraid that the nerve issue would screw it up but, although I had some pain/itch is was not disrupting.

 

Campfire Ghost Stories at Barnsley

Tonight was an example of what a joy I find in telling stories. The Barnsley Resort hired me to entertain a corporate group on the first night of their two-day annual planning retreat. These were folks from Southern Company offices in Gulfport, Birmingham, and Atlanta. There were 21 folks in a circle of chairs around a campfire and I told from inside the circle -- literally storytelling in the round. I chose to ditch the sound system so I could wander the circle and interact with the audience. I had a ball.

I chose two of my favorite stories that are partially set in Bartow County near the Barnsley Resort. I started with "Courting One More Time". I was very pleased with it. 

We paused for a few minutes while the group hit the resort's fancy snacks arranged on the table or assembled s'mores from the supplies on the pyramid rack. 

Then I followed with "The Lieutenant's Jacket". 

I finished up with a five-minute summary of the sad deaths associated with Barnsley that have spurred the many ghost sightings there and gave a closing admonition to ignore strange sights and sounds they might encounter during their two nights here. 

It was a very congenial and attentive group and was well organized and storytelling friendly. 

During the snack break I took a couple of pictures.

The snacks looked great! I did manage to sneak a small piece of key lime pie.

 

Misty Morning on the Oostanaula

 

I was out at 6:46 to get my walk started this morning -- in time to see the sky just turning pink in the east.

By the time I got to the Little Dry Creek bridge the sky was barely blue and the moon was bright and full in the western sky.

Today I will try to take pictures of ALL of the arboretum memorial stones on the "clockwise circuit".  This is the first one near the "Post Office Trailhead".

After the arboretum of the east side of the Oostanaula was completed the Mt. Berry Trail began to be used for that purpose. Here are a couple of newly planted trees near the big pond. There are no engraved stones at the trees yet.

The city has been actively clearing underbrush from the sides of the trail to keep it open and friendly. There are also regular patrols by uniformed "ambassadors" on bicycle. The trail feels very safe.

This colorful swing overlooks the Oostanaula just across from Chieftains Museum.

The mist this morning made for a picturesque walk.

Stacking Blocks

I don't know what we paid for this set of cardboard Winnie the Pooh stacking blocks when Brannon was a toddler -- or maybe it was a gift? -- but it was well worth it. It's a little ratty now but I'll bet it will entertain Margot too.

A Very Big Oak

I took an unusual walk today -- west from our house on 10th Street to the Staples/Chick-Fil-A shopping center then out Shorter Avenue to the Hospitality House thrift store. 

Along the way I passed this huge oak that I have admired from the street for many years. Several of its huge limbs extend impossibly far from the trunk horizontally. 

the lower limbs are covered with Resurrection Fern.

Close-up of the dry brown Resurrection Fern -- when it rains again it will turn bright green. 

One of the limbs had been reinforced with an upright post.

If look closely you will see my five foot walking stick placed to give an idea of scale.